Over the last 12 years, Angela’s placed 60 angel investments and advised startups spanning everything from mobile to consumer products to clean tech. Angela proudly maintains multiple leadership roles in the flourishing Portland startup ecosystem. In addition to being Co-Managing Director of Portland Seed Fund, she’s also Director of Portland State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, which has housed more than 30 emerging tech companies to date. Angela is a past Chair of Angel Oregon and past President of Keiretsu Forum Portland chapter.

Kanth Gopalpur has been involved in several entrepreneurial ventures over the past two decades. From 1995-2000 he led the online operations of Powell’s Books and from 2000-2002 he served as the VP of ecommerce for Djangos, a venture backed retailer of music and movies. In 2002 Kanth founded and was the CEO of Monsoon Inc. Over the next few years Monsoon experienced rapid growth and was acquired by a private equity firm in February 2010 and merged with Alibris Inc., an Emeryville, CA company to form Monsoon Commerce. Kanth served as President and Board Member of the combined $100M company, with over 120 employees in 3 locations, from 2010 till 2012 and then as CEO until May 2013. Kanth has also served on the Board of the Oregon Growth Account, the Portland Intermediary Fund, the Oregon Chapter of TIE and several private companies in and outside Oregon.

Angela Jackson will be joined by Mike Coughlin and Wayne Patterson on a panel that will provide feedback on the Launch Stage competition pitches.

Mike Coughlin, Owner and CEO, Burley Design, LLC

Mike has run, founded, purchased and/or turned-around numerous ventures over his career, including Burley Design, Kerr Concentrates, Tactics Boardshop, and Percon Incorporated. He has a background in mergers and acquisitions and financial consulting. Mike was CEO at Percon when they went public in 1995 and oversaw four major acquisitions by Percon. In 2006, Mike purchased Burley Design from its owner employees and has since led the company to significant growth through refocusing on the company’s core products, bike trailers. In addition to Burely, he has active involvement and ownership in Kerr Concentrates; Citizens Building, LLC; and McCracken Building, LLC.

Wayne Patterson, CEO, APT Motovox Group, Inc.

American Performance Technologies is located in Kansas City, MO and has 3 powersport brands (Motovox, Motovox Pro and Motoped), a fuel system division supporting SmartCarb technology, a small engine development division (SonicFlow), and is a certified EPA/CARB emission testing lab. Patterson was President and CEO for the first 5 years of APT. Wayne’s background includes co-founder of Alpine Electronics, co-founder Proton Electronics, SVP Specialized Bicycles, corporate restructure and strategic development for Oakley, and category development/M&A/Board of Directors for Nike. Over the last 30+ years, Patterson has worked with as a senior consultant or held senior executive positions at major consumer brands including Alpine, K2, Mattel, Nike, Oakley, Proton, Sony, Specialized, Trek, and others.

Launch Stage

The “launch stage” investment is anticipated to approximately $150,000. Over twenty Oregon-based companies applied. The investors have narrowed the field to seven. The five finalists will be announced November 13.

Concept Stage

The Concept Stage competition is for business ideas or very early stage companies seeking assistance to get started. Only Douglas County businesses are eligible. The winner will receive a prize, including $3,000 in cash, 6 months rent-free residency at the Umpqua Business Center and a package of free and reduced cost business services sponsored by inerseshen creative media.

Over 15 Douglas-county based companies competed. The semi-finals were held at a YES! meet-up on October 29. Over 50 people attended the pitch-off and five individuals were voted to compete in the finals:

June Taylor RoseRent.com

William Tucker Charged Concept

Michelle Jones No Grain (Nola)

Larry Linton Pyrotech

Ty Stubblefield Hunt Gear USA

Donna Holm, with Holm Made Toffee will also compete in the finals.

BACKGROUND

The Partnership for Economic Development in Douglas County, in cooperation with the Umpqua Business Center, is organizing the conference and supporting the RAIN investor LLC.

The Partnership for Economic Development in Douglas County, formerly known as the Umpqua Economic Development Partnership, was established in 2001 to be the lead collaborative economic development organization in the region. The Founding Partners were: the City of Roseburg, Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Douglas County Industrial Development Board, and CCD Business Development Corporation. www.uedpartnership.org

The Umpqua Business Center (UBC) is an integral part of a comprehensive economic development plan for Douglas County, accelerating the development of start-up businesses in a business incubation setting. Developing local, homegrown businesses complements regional efforts to encourage expansion, retention and attraction of companies. The long-range goal is to create new, stable and successful businesses that contribute to the general economic health of the area, increase employment opportunities and add to the variety of products and services available to its citizens. umpquabusiness.com

RAIN is an effort to foster a better environment for entrepreneurship in Douglas County. The primary vehicle is a private company (an LLC), through which local investors are coming together to invest in one early stage company. (See: http://www.rainangel.org/ .)

The larger effort, being organized by The Partnership for Economic Development in Douglas County and the Umpqua Business Center, includes a business plan competition, a series of training events, and the conference.

 Build awareness and knowledge of local entrepreneurs and investors about direct equity investment.

RAIN is a community effort of investors and local resources. Entrepreneurs will receive hands-on experience in developing a business plan, pitching an equity investor, and understanding deal structure. Our local investor community will be trained on how to evaluate potential direct equity investments and how to structure such investments.

Hi Bryan,
Liz here from The Partnership! From what I’ve heard the 2015 RAIN Conference the investors are looking at December (early). Normally it has taken place in mid November…So I’m not sure which it will be! If you like I can add your email address to our Constant Contact list. It will give you updates as to when and other activities throughout the area. Are you interested in the RAIN competition or would just like to attend the conference.

Thank You
Liz Thomason
The Partnership
Economic Development for Douglas County
RAIN (Roseburg Area Angel Investors Network)